Judge criticises KFC appeal submissions

Date: November 16 2012

A judge of the Supreme Court of NSW has strongly criticised KFC's submissions in its appeal against an order to pay $8 million in damages to a girl left severely brain damaged after eating a Twister chicken wrap.

In the supreme court in Sydney on Friday, Justice Clifton Hoeben told Michael Jones, SC, representing the fast food chain, that his submissions "don't come within a bull's roar of complying with the rules".

"I get very little assistance from the written submissions," Justice Hoeben said, adding there was "hardly any law there".

"They really read as submissions that should have been or probably were made at trial," he said.

"They are not in the form of submissions on appeal."

Last April, the court ordered KFC to pay $8 million in damages and legal costs to Monika Samaan.

Justice Stephen Rothman found a Twister bought by her father on October 24, 2005, was the source of salmonella poisoning which left the then seven-year-old severely disabled.

KFC has previously said the decision to appeal was difficult but necessary.

"We feel deeply for Monika Samaan and her family, but we continue to believe our food is perfectly safe and that the evidence in this case showed the incident was unrelated to our products," it said in a statement earlier this year.

Mr Jones said the grounds of appeal would include whether the Twister was purchased at all and the question of infection.

He accepted aspects of his submissions did not "strictly" comply with the rules of appeal.

Justice Hoeben said it was essential that lawyers for KFC "identify the factual errors" made by the trial judge.

He noted the case had spanned about 18 months and it was important to avoid a "long rambling appeal".

He ordered the parties to lodge submissions by March 22 next year and adjourned the matter to a later date.

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